Our country is approaching full employment, defined by Wikipedia as “an acceptable level of unemployment somewhere above 0%.” What does that mean for you? There are very few workers available, as most are already employed.
Are there populations of people who we don’t normally consider when looking for new employees? I think so. In no particular order, here are some that may or may not have occurred to you.
Veterans
With our military now all-volunteer, there are a lot of people who have served their time and are now looking for work as civilians. These folks bring experience working in a structured organization and following rules. Most companies depend on having employees who have that experience.
Do all veterans have the needed craft skills? No. However, those skills can be taught.
Former Prisoners
Our country has a higher percentage of its population in prisons or who have been in prison than any other country. Many people believe this is due to draconian sentencing laws that are now being re-examined and modified. I live in Oregon, where it is now legal to purchase marijuana. If I was stopped by a policeman years ago with the amount of marijuana I now can have, it is likely I would have been given a prison sentence.
Former prisoners who have served their time must be regarded as potential employees in order for them to rebuild their lives. In a well-run prison, inmates are encouraged and taught to follow the rules and look to a future as free people.
Employers have found that former prisoners are often very loyal employees, in a large part due to the fact that it is so hard for them to get any job. As with veterans, not every former prisoner may be a fit for your company. The right one will be.
Women
For many jobs, women still are not considered. This has been the case for a long time.
What happened during World War I and II in our country? The men went to fight and the women took over many of their jobs, working with tools and doing work that was not “lady-like.” Why does it take a war for us to look at more than half our population being as capable as men at pretty much anything that needs to be done?
As I have written before, a company that has a mix of men and women is more effective and consequently, more successful.
People of Color
My wife and I lived in California for more than 30 years. Over those years, the population of California changed so that Caucasians became less than 50% of the population. The resulting mix of people helps to make the economy of California the sixth largest in the world.
When I was active in the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, and as I continued to work with Remodelers Advantage, I virtually never saw any people of color at any meetings and industry events.
With the population of our country changing, successful companies inevitably will be those whose employees mirror that. Diversity makes everyone great.
Immigrants
I recently did on-site consulting with a company located in Canada. As part of that work, I asked all the employees to share information about themselves, including their home town. More than half the people were born outside Canada and were first-generation immigrants. The range of countries they were from was remarkable.
The different accents in the room were good to hear. To see such diverse people discovering their futures together was inspiring. The world is changing. Your company would benefit from embracing the changes.
Think about the categories I am presenting for your consideration. In many cases, a person could be from more than one of them. An open mind is what I am suggesting you bring to your search for good employees. That will help you see possibilities where now you may see none.